SPRINTS
Speed kills. At Saturday's LHSAA Division II State Indoor Meet, Glen Oaks is hoping their speed--and depth--are lethal enough to claim the DII boys' state championship.
There is only one sprinter in Division II who has broken the 7 second barrier in the 60m--Glen Oaks' Na'ryan Delone, who has been one of the most consistent sprinters in the state.
Not only does Glen Oaks have the fast sprinter in Division II, they have the deepest sprint group in the state. It's evident when you look at the fastest qualifying times among Division II relays.
Glen Oaks have the fastest time in the 4x200m (1:30.83) by four seconds. They also have the fastest time in the 4x400m (3:25.84) by nine seconds.
DISTANCE
While Glen Oaks has the speed department taken care of, Parkview Baptist will lead Division II in the distance events, where the Eagles' Aiden Monistere leads in both the 1600m (4:27.85) and 3200m (9:16.64).
The latter time came at the LSU Last Chance Qualifier when Monistere went for Rhen Langley's fieldhouse composite record of 9:16.10.
Parkview Baptist will also well be represented in the 800m with Reed Boudreaux (1:59.43), who is ranked No. 2 in the Division II behind Calvary's Jackson Burney (1:59.03). The Eagles also have Kohl Feucht (2:04.83), who is ranked No. 7 in the division.
There is a clear pecking order at the top and barring any unforeseen freak occurrences between now and Saturday, expect to see Highland Baptist's Tyler Blissett and Loyola's Tripp Roemer sharing the podium with Monistere.
Blissett comes into the meet with the No. 2 time in both the 1600m (4:28.76) and 3200m (9:42.74). Roemer (4:32.99; 9:43.01) is ranked third in both distance events.
With this depth of distance talent-as expected-Parkview has the No. 1 time in the 4x800m (8:30.82).
FIELD EVENTS
Let's start with the MVP. That's an easy one: East Feliciana's Herman Batiste. One of the best high jumpers in the nation will be ready to get the bad taste out of his mouth from the LSU Last Chance Qualifier-where he lost to Acadiana's Damon Lewis.
Batiste is ranked No. 9 in the nation with a season best of 6-9. He tied for No. 34 in the nation in the long jump with a best of 23-0. Nobody else in Division II has reached 21 feet.
While Batiste should win both the high jump and the long jump with ease, he may leave the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse with three wins as he will also compete in the 60m hurdles. He has the fastest time this season (8.20), but you can bet he will be feeling some pressure from Mansfield's Jaden Youngblood (8.25) and ARCA's Finn Galyean (8.21).
Other jumpers who you can expect to find on the podium is Lake Charles College Prep's Cameron Hill. Hill is ranked No. 2 in the high jump (6-2) and third in the triple jump (43-3.5).
Two triple jumpers to keep an eye on are Delhi Charter's Tayven Carter and E.D. White's Benjamin Rodrigue. Carter is ranked No. 1 in Division II with a season best of 45-6.5. Rodrigue is ranked No. 2 with a best of 44-8.5.
We've talked about how talented Glen Oaks is in the sprints. The Panthers are also loaded in the jumps. In the long jump, they have the No. 2 and No. 4 ranked long jumpers. Darius
Gross (20-10) is No. 2 and his teammate Christopher Jackson(20-6) is ranked No. 4.
Jackson (42-5) is also ranked No. 5 in the triple jump. Fellow Panther Jamarcus Young (41-5.25) is ranked No. 7.
In the shot put, Ouachita Christian's Ryder Bentley is the heavy favorite. He is ranked No. 1 with a best of 48-11. He is the leader by a foot. The next closest opponent is University Lab's Lamar Brown.
Quitman's Bryan Lay provided one of the many highlights during the 2024 indoor season. The No. 1 ranked vaulter in all classes with a best of 14-10 from the LSU Last Chance Qualifier. He will battle the No. 2 ranked vaulter in Louisiana-ARCA's Lucas Owens (14-4).
Will Lay or Owens get over the bar at 15-0? We cannot wait to find out.